Ariane is the main launch vehicle of the European Space Agency (ESA). Up to the present day, there have been four versions, Ariane 1 to 4, and a fifth, Ariane 5, is currently under development. Ariane rockets are launched from the Kourou Space Centre in French Guiana, South America. A French-based company called Arianespace is responsible for the production, marketing and launching of the rockets. It was formed in March 1980 by 36 major European manufacturers in the aerospace field, 13 European banks, and the French space organization CNES (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales). The Ariane programme was begun in December 1973, and the first launch, of an Ariane 1 rocket, took place in December 1979. The rocket was capable of delivering about 1,850 kg to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). The Ariane 1 programme was in the main successful, although there were a few launch failures due to design problems. The Ariane 3 programme began in 1980, with its first launch in August 1984. GTO performance increased to 2,580 kg. Ariane 4, under development since 1982, had its maiden flight in April 1988. The most powerful Ariane 4 variant has a GTO performance of over 4 tonnes. Ariane 5 has been under development since 1985. It is a radically different design to the earlier Arianes, which are variations on the same theme. Ariane 5 is a heavy lift vehicle with a lift-off thrust approaching 1,400 tonnes. It can place nearly 7 tonnes in GTO, or 21 tonnes in low Earth orbit. Its payloads will include Hermes, Europe's manned spaceplane. The Ariane 1 to 4 launch vehicles feature the same basic technology: they are three-stage step rockets, with strap-on boosters for Ariane 3 and 4. The first two stages of the rockets have Viking engines, four in the first stage, one in the second; they burn UDMH and nitrogen tetroxide propellants. The third stage is cryogenic, burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. The strap-on boosters may be solid-propellant, liquid-propellant or a mix of the two, depending on the version.
